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South Carolina, 18 or 21 to drink? August 4th, 2009 Posted by Hunter Wilson
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So my fellow South Carolinians, what should it be, 18 or 21 years old to drink? Recently, two South Carolina county courts (Richland & Aiken for those who are curious) have stirred up a debate on the drinking age laws in the state. In short they ruled that laws banning possession and consumption of liquor, beer and wine for those aged 18 to 20 are unconstitutional and thus invalid. Before every college freshman and recent high school graduate rushes out to a bar these decisions are subject to an Appeals court upholding these decisions.  The benefits of a lower drinking age are many with respect to the nightlife industry. A lower drinking age means a bigger pool of customers, more business, more jobs created, and more money. College towns and other places with large concentrated populations of this age group would benefit the most from the economic impacts of the change. South Carolina cities and towns would certainly see a large uptick in food and beverage revenues. I know our friends in Charlotte would see a mass exodus of 18 to 20 year olds across the state line to partake, benefiting Rock Hill and Fort Mill nightlife tremendously.
The drawbacks are also numerous with possible consequences extending beyond the nightlife industry. Imagine South Carolina with an 18 year old drinking age. Our beaches would become an extremely popular spring break destination, which sounds good on the surface, but anyone who was on Morris Island or Folly beach during the 4th of July can tell you the aftermath was awful in terms of trash and local opinion. Those same 18-20 year olds coming to South Carolina to drink on the weekends would certainly at some point end up in a car back to where they came from, most likely in a DUI situation. Our police resources would be diverted from more pressing matters to handle the uptick in nightlife activity, specifically in border towns.  These are only a FEW of the arguments for and against a change in drinking age, what do you think?
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Hunter Wilson
Owner, CarolinaNightlife.com1 Posts
Charles is the Executive Director of Carolina Nightlife and very involved in the nightlife industry in NC and SC. He has been working with venues of all sizes, different brands and products, and countless events across NC and SC for over 8 years.